Quality Sleep Success

Regular quality sleep is important for daily functioning, health, and learning. According to the WebMD Sleep Guide, babies up to about one-year-old need around 15 hours a day of sleep. By the time they reach 12 years old that can be reduced to around 8 or 9 hours per night.

Establishing a good bedtime routine is critical to providing the necessary sleeping schedule for your child.

Turn Off Electronics

Turn off all electronics at least on half to one hour before bedtime. Make this “mellow time” for your kids. Set “mellow time” rules and make sure that everyone knows them. Rules might include no physical play, quiet reading or activity, light music, conversation. Make it suitable for your family.

Pajama Time

Have your children bathe and change into their pajamas prior to or during “mellow time”.

Quality Mattress

Having a quality mattress makes ALL the difference. Spring mattresses can often lead to back problems, however, mattresses such as the SensorGel 10″ Plush Mattress is not only comfortable but is also a great support for your back while you sleep.

This plush mattress features 3 layers of cooling, comfort, and support. The bottom layer features high-density support foam, while the middle layer contains SensorGel, a gel infused memory foam and the top layer has Sensor Air Foam. Even an 11-year-old can do the unboxing all by himself!

Light Snack

If you eat dinner early in the evening it is appropriate to give your child a light snack before bed. A snack of cheese and crackers or peanut butter on toast or a cup of yogurt with fruit are all good snacks. This will sustain them through the night. Avoid sugary snacks like cookies or sugar-coated cereals. This can be done during “mellow time”.

Bed Time Established

Bed time should be the same time every night. Take a moment to count how many hours your child will need to sleep and make sure that you put them to bed early enough that they can actually get the proper number. Refer to the WebMD sleep guide.

Proper Pillow

We talked about how a mattress makes all the difference with the support it provides you back through the night. A perfect pillow paired with a quality mattress means both your neck and back are taken care of through the night preventing you from waking up with cricks in your neck or an achy back!

SensorPedic features an array of sleep products that are designed for maximum comfort and support. These include products such as:

Ideal Comfort Gel Memory Foam Firm Pillow– Ideal Comfort Technology is designed to optimize your sleep temperature. The iCool Technology System is designed to provide you with maximum breathability.

Extreme Cooling Memory Foam Pillow– This memory foam pillow helps you to discover the very best cooling sleep experience.

Temperature of the Room

Make sure their room is the proper temperature and that there are no hard toys in their bed. Bedrooms should be free of distractions and electronic devices. A white noise machine can be turned on or a gentle fan for noise and air circulation if necessary. If you want to warm their bed first in the winter with an electric mattress pad or blanket you can do that while they are brushing their teeth. Just make sure that you turn it off before they go to bed.

Keep Them In THEIR Bed

If small children are waking during the night it is important for them to learn to fall back to sleep on their own. Many children try to manipulate their parents into sleeping with them or engaging with them in the middle of the night. If your child is healthy and well and there are no urgent or medical reasons to engage with them, you should allow them time to fall back to sleep on their own. Going in to a demanding child only exacerbates sleeping problems and sets up unhealthy sleep patterns.

Time to Wake Up

Part of healthy sleeping patterns include getting up on time. Even on the weekends you should do your best to maintain the bed time routine. Of course there are exceptions but it makes it much more difficult to return to the routine if exceptions become the rule.

This routine can be somewhat flexible as your children get older but remember that teenagers need routine and good sleeping habits just as young children do. Good sleeping and bedtime routines for your entire family, no matter what age, is a good foundation for health and well being.